Preface to the publication of the "List of Private and National Railway Stations"
（「私鉄国鉄停車場一覧」公開に際しての まえがき）
■Message from MASUDA AKIHISA（益田彰久からのメッセージ）
I was interested in developments such as the closure and opening of railway lines and stations, and since my student days, I had been thinking that I wanted a database that dealt with these topics.
Initially, I started by handwriting information onto cards, using resources such as "A Brief History of 100 Years of Railways"（鉄道百年略史）by Railway Book Publishing Association（鉄道図書刊行会）as a reference, but I quickly realized the limitations of managing information on cards and felt that the amount of information was insufficient.
From then on, I became passionate about collecting information from magazines and books, and as computers were just starting to become popular among the general public, I quickly digitized the data I was organizing. At the same time, I was constantly experimenting to find the best database to satisfy my needs.
Given this background, my work focuses less on "research" and more on "how to organize and present information".
In other words, it is based on the results of the hard work and research compiled by many people, and I always feel grateful and appreciative when I refer to these materials.
However, inevitably, the quantity, quality, density, and accuracy of the information in each document vary widely. Even official documents contain errors.
My goal in creating this database has become to see if I can standardize and present this information according to a certain set of criteria.
Through these hobby activities, I had the opportunity to communicate with Mr. Ishino Tetsu, and by having him review the database and receiving various suggestions and corrections, it has finally become something presentable to others.
However, there is still a considerable amount of work and information to be added, and there are a frustrating number of data bugs. I'm always worried about whether I'll be able to complete it in my lifetime.
I've also created a small website for my own convenience, but it's not very easy for the general public to navigate.
Nevertheless, I decided to publish this in the form of a "Station List"（停車場一覧）this time, hoping that it will lead to more people becoming interested in this field and contribute to a deeper understanding of the subject, and this decision was made with Mr. Ishino's encouragement.
Details regarding the database that serves as the basis for the "Station List"（停車場一覧）can be found in the "Introduction/Overview"（はじめに・概要）section of my website,
"Japanese Railways：All Lines & All Stations"（日本の鉄道 全路線＆全停車場）.
In simple terms, this database was constructed by referencing basic information sources on railway lines and stations, such as "List of Local Railways and Tramways（地方鉄道軌道一覧）→ Private Railway Directory（私鉄要覧）→ Private Railway Company Directory（民鉄要覧）→ Railway Directory（鉄道要覧）", "List of Stations（停車場一覧）", and "Official Gazette"（官報）reprinting "Railway Gazette"（鉄道公報）, and supplementing and verifying this information with research findings and materials published in books and magazines.
Whenever any of the company name, line name, station name, or distance between stations changed, an effective period (application period) was set using a "from-to" format.
Once this is completed, simply specifying the date (year, month, and day) will select the rows containing the route names, station names, and distances between stations for that specific date, allowing you to generate a "List of Stations"（停車場一覧）and calculate "Distances and Number of stations for each company and route"（各社・路線別の、距離・停車場数算出）for that particular day.
＊"Railway Directory"（鉄道要覧）= Lists, by railway operator, the distance, sections, license/permit dates, and opening dates of licensed/permitted lines and operational lines.
＊"Station List"（停車場一覧）= Station name, pronunciation, distance between adjacent stations, location, and opening date, organized by railway operator and line.
＊"Official Gazette"（官報）= from its inaugural issue on July 2, 1883 (Meiji 16) to April 30, 1952 (Showa 27), is available for free on the National Diet Library（国立国会図書館）'s website (upon inquiry, they stated that there are no plans for further free publication beyond this period). Since it reprints the "Notices"（告示）and "Announcements"（公示）from the "Railway Gazette"（鉄道公報）, the original text can be checked online.
Select "Table of Contents"（目次）in the right-hand column, and then specify the year, month, and day in the displayed tree to jump to any specific date.
＊Example of official announcement：March 25, 1925 (Taisho 14.03.25) Atami Line：Opening of the 3.4mile section between Yugawara and Atami.
Please note that we also have a "disused railway map"（廃線地図）available, although it is limited to data that has already been entered into the database. It can be helpful in visualizing the routes of abandoned railway lines, and unlike paper maps, the ability to zoom in and out is very convenient, but on the other hand, it is far from complete in many areas. Please use it only as a reference.
■Message from ISHINO TETSU（石野 哲からのメッセージ）
In 1998, when "The Complete Dictionary of Station Name Changes：Japanese National Railways and JR Edition"（停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・ＪＲ編）as of July 31, 1998 (Heisei 10) was published by JTB , I was eager to create "Private Railways Edition"（私鉄編）, but due to a lack of comprehensive materials, I only managed to publish several compilations of current station names. I retired from "JTB Publishing"（JTBパブリッシング）at the end of March 2019 at the age of 70.
＊"Complete List of All Railway Station Names in Japan：9820 Stations"（日本の鉄道全駅駅名総覧9820）＜Paper only＞ ＝ As of July 1, 2002 (Heisei 14) ＝ JTB, Special supplement to "Tabi"（旅）magazine, August 2002 issue.
On January 6, 2020, I received a New Year's greeting email from Mr. Masuda, in which he mentioned that he was creating a database that, in short, "combines the 'Station List'（停車場一覧）and the 'Railway Directory'（鉄道要覧）, and is also capable of handling arbitrary dates".
Since then, Mr. Masuda has occasionally provided me with the simple text (plain text) of his "Railway History Database"（鉄道変遷データベース）（hereinafter referred to as "Masuda Data"（益田データ））, which I have converted into data using the Japanese-made database software "Kiri"（日本製データベースソフトウェア『桐』）, and have been checking and cooperating with him on various matters.
This year, in January 2025, I received notification that the input of data from June 1, 1949 (the date of the establishment of Japanese National Railways（日本国有鉄道）) onwards had been provisionally completed. So, as a test, I specified "April 1, 1987 (the day the JNR was privatized and the seven JR companies were created（国鉄民営化）)" to extract the data, created a PDF file formatted as a "List of Private Railway Stations"（私鉄停車場一覧）, and sent it to Mr. Masuda on February 8, 2025 (Saturday).
He replied, "It's really impressive to see it in this format".
Through subsequent email exchanges, we concluded that publishing this information online, similar to an "Official Gazette"（官報）, would be beneficial for researchers studying the history of private railways, especially younger ones, and that the "Railway Forum"（鉄道フォーラム）would be the most suitable place for publication.
On April 1, 2025 (Tuesday), although the data was still not perfect, it had become reasonably clean, so we decided to start by publishing the "List of Private and National Railway Stations"（私鉄国鉄停車場一覧）for six specific points in time："June 1, 1949 (Showa 24)", "December 1, 1968 (Showa 43)", "March 10, 1975 (Showa 50)", "March 31, 1987 (Showa 62)", "April 1, 1987 (Showa 62)", and "January 1, 2000 (Heisei 12)".
I asked ITO HIROYASU（伊藤博康）, president of "railforum.jp", to review this "List of Private and National Railway Stations", and fortunately, it was possible to make it publicly available on the
"Railway Forum"（鉄道フォーラム）.
※The first to fifth installments cover only the period from June 1, 1949 (Showa 24)（the day the Japanese National Railways was founded）to March 31, 2016 (Heisei 28).
◎ ＝ As of the time of the release of the first installment, 6 points for one day only.
○ ＝ As of the time of the release of the second installment, 19 points for one day only.
新 ＝ As of the time of the release of the third installment, 9 points in time for the entire period + 35 points for one day only ＝ 44 points.
※In the fourth update, while the 44 points remain the same, symbols indicating the order of line openings ("↑", "↓", "*", "+") and the line opening dates have been added to the "Station List".
※古 ＝ The sixth installment adds the period from June 12, 1872 (May 7, Meiji 5)（the day Japan's railways were founded）to May 31, 1949 (Showa 24)（the day before the launch of the Japanese National Railways）, making it completely comprehensive. However, coverage for the entire period is limited to the Japanese National Railways and the private railways that have been acquired and are listed in the "The Complete Dictionary of Station Name Changes：Japanese National Railways and JR Edition" (JTB 1998)（停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・ＪＲ編）, and for the other private railways that have not been acquired, only Hokkaido and the six Tohoku prefectures have been completed (more will be added in the future). 20 points in time for the entire period + 91 points for one day only = 111 points.
※The seventh installment, 44 points in time for the entire period + 133 points for one day only = 177 points.
This "List of Private and National Railway Stations"（私鉄国鉄停車場一覧）incorporates the following six major features：
(1) The lines and stations were arranged in an orderly manner from north to south (and from east to west) to make them easier to find.
(2) The number of official stations on each line was clearly indicated in the form of a "station sequence number"（駅通番）.
(3) I have added a sequential number（通番）starting from 1 at the end of the right-hand side, so you can identify each station name using only the date in the station list and this sequential number.
(4) To facilitate cross-referencing with "Wakuda Book"（和久田本）, we have included the "Wakuda Number"（和久田番）. "Wakuda Number" was set independently by the editor.
(5) Before March 31, 1930 (Showa 5), distances were measured in miles. Two types of distances are listed："total miles" and "total kilometers", which is miles converted to kilometers.《the sixth installment》
(6) The "List of Stations" list has been divided into 11 categories: by era, by 10 years +α, by organization, by distance and line name, when it first opened, by complete line, by long tunnels, by long bridges, by Shinkansen, by important dates, and by station name and company name list, making it easier to search by "List by content".《the seventh installment》
＊Wakuda Book（和久田本）= WAKUDA YASUO（和久田康雄 passed away on April 13, 2017, at the age of 83）, author of "Research Materials on the History of Private Railways for Railway Fans - 1882 to 2012"（鉄道ファンのための私鉄史研究資料－1882to2012－）by
"Electric Railway Research Association"（電気車研究会）, First edition published April 25, 2014.
＊Wakuda Number（和久田番）= A five-digit number is created by adding a serial number starting from 1 to the four-digit "serial number of each operator" in "Wakuda Book" serial number of each operator"（各事業者の整理番号４桁）in the order in which multiple companies with the same number appear.
For example, in the case of the current "Keisei Electric Railway"（京成電鉄）,
46541 Taishaku Human-Powered Railway（帝釈人車鉄道）＜Track（軌道）＞
46542 Taishaku Human-Powered Tramway（帝釈人車軌道）＜Track（軌道）＞
46543 Keisei Electric Tramway（京成電気軌道）＜Track（軌道）＞
46211 Keisei Electric Tramway（京成電気軌道）＜Railway（鉄道）＞
46212 Keisei Electric Railway（京成電鉄）＜Railway（鉄道）＞
Furthermore, we plan to soon release the "Wakuda Number's List"（和久田番の一覧）, as well as the "JIS code change data"（JISコード変遷データ）from December 1, 1968 (Showa 43) to the present, which serves as the basis for the "Prefecture, City, Ward, and Town/Village"（県・市区・郡町村）information in the station list. ＜Published on June 16, 2025＞
Regarding the changes in private railway companies and lines, there is a remarkable work by WAKUDA YASUO (the book mentioned above), but in that book, the changes in stations are limited to listing the old and new station names in the "List of Lines"（路線一覧）, and there is no mention of the dates when the station names were changed.
With the release of the "Masuda Data", the continuous changes in the names of private railway stations across the country will become clear.
We hope that by releasing this data, we will be able to evolve into more accurate "Company, Line, and Station Data".
Incidentally, the definitive list of current railway lines and stations (more precisely, a list of train stops) is Hoshino Shintaro（星野真太郎）'s "National Station Name Dictionary"（全国駅名事典）as of October 1, 2016 (Heisei 28) , which was published on December 20, 2016, by
Sogensha（創元社）.
According to a recent email from Mr. Hoshino, "I am currently working diligently on the revised edition. The editorial policy is to consult primary sources as much as possible and to indicate the page number where the source is cited. The amount of proofreading work is enormous, and it is uncertain whether it will be published within this year (2025)".
We are now releasing the "Masuda Data" online, with the hope of supporting this revised edition.
■Request and Disclaimer（お願いと免責）■
The data presented here is created as a hobby by the author. The content may be changed without notice. You are free to use the data for personal, non-commercial purposes, but its use for commercial or profit-making purposes is prohibited.
Please note that the author is under no obligation to correct any inaccuracies in this data. The author is not involved in, and accepts no responsibility or liability for, any problems or damages that may arise in connection with this data.
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